Yesterday, Harry Coker Jr. was officially confirmed as the National Cyber Director. Democrats led a 59-40 vote to confirm Coker as the White House’s second National Cyber Director. He succeeds Chris Inglis, who stepped down in February. Kemba Walden and Drenan Dudley have served as acting directors in the interim. Coker, who was also selected as a 2023 HSToday Trailblazer, recently completed a joint duty assignment as the Executive Director of the National Security Agency.
According to his bio at the McCrary Institute of Cyber and Critical Infrastructure at Auburn University, Coker. As the third in command of the largest component of the US Intelligence Community, he directly supported NSA’s Director and Deputy Director in the strategic and day-to-day leadership of the Agency. Coker’s service to the Nation and NSA was recognized with the awarding of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the NSA Director’s Distinguished Service Medal, and the IC EEOD Outstanding Leadership Award.
During the first seventeen years of his service with the CIA, Coker was assigned to leadership positions in the Directorate of Digital Innovation; the Directorate of Science & Technology; and the Director’s Area. Key assignments included service as Director of the Open Source Enterprise, which is responsible for leveraging publicly available information; and as Deputy Director of CIA’s Office of Public Affairs, which is responsible for the Agency’s internal and external communications and media relations. Coker was also a member of the small, hand-selected team of senior officers that architected the Agency’s organizational construct and operating model. He also had a key role in formulating and executing the Diversity in Leadership Study; and served on the Executive Diversity & Inclusion Council. Coker’s leadership and contributions earned him the Presidential Rank Award and CIA’s prestigious Don Cryer Award for Diversity & Inclusion.
